When the worst temperature extremes of the year roll back around, many homeowners are gritting their teeth at the thought of rising utility bill prices. With heating and cooling bills making up about 43% of your annual utility bills, it’s no wonder that you likely want to decrease them. Fortunately, we’re going to share with you our expert tips for saving on your cooling and heating bills this coming year.
Use Direct Sunlight to Your Advantage
During the wintertime, direct sunlight is a free source of heat that can make a substantial impact on the temperature inside of your home. In fact, direct sunlight has been shown to significantly increase the interior temperature of a residence by up to 10 degrees or more. That’s a lot of heat for free.
Make sure to open blinds and curtains to take advantage of as much free heat as possible during the colder winter months. Conversely, during the hot summer season, you want to keep the sunlight out. Be sure to close those blinds and curtains so that the sun won’t heat up your home and cause your air conditioning system to work overtime.
Insulate
Insulation can play a huge role in the effectiveness of your heating or cooling system. Think of it as a blockade between the temperature inside your home and the temperature outdoors. There will be an R-value recommendation for insulation in your area’s local building code. Ensure that the insulation in your home either matches or exceeds the recommended value for your area.
Seal Up Air Leaks
Over time, leaks can occur around window and door frames. When this happens, these leaks can end up allowing the hot air from your home to escape outdoors in the winter. Conversely, the hot outdoor air will move into your home during the summer.
Instead of having your HVAC system run continuously to combat the temperature difference, it only makes sense to seal off those leaks to prevent the transfer of heat between the indoors and outdoors. You can use weatherstripping, foam insulation, or even caulking.
Use Your Ceiling Fans
Ceiling fans are a great choice to help regulate the temperature throughout the various rooms of your home. You’ll want your fans to spin in a counterclockwise direction to force air downward onto you during the summer months. This breeze will help to wick away sweat and make your home feel much colder than it is.
During the winter months, you’ll want to switch your ceiling fan to operate in reverse. This forces air outward to your walls, where it will naturally travel downward to the floor level. By recirculating hot air trapped at the top of your room back to the floor, you can run your heating system less often while still remaining comfortable in your home.
Optimize Humidity Levels
Humidity can play a big role in your comfort level throughout the year. When humidity levels are high during the summer, it’s much harder for sweat from your body to be absorbed into the air. This causes your body to overheat, likely resulting in you turning down your thermostat to compensate for the stuffy, hot feeling you are experiencing.
When you remove excess humidity from the air during the summertime, it will allow more of your sweat to evaporate. This will cool you down and make you feel more comfortable without having to turn down the temperature setting on your thermostat.
In the winter, cold air that is very dry will struggle to adequately maintain heat. Unfortunately, this can have you turning up the temperature setting on your thermostat to compensate for the coldness that you feel. By adding humidity to the air, you can allow it to retain more moisture. This will lead to a hotter feeling inside your home without having to turn up the thermostat.
Use a Smart Thermostat
If you don’t already have a smart thermostat, it’s time to consider getting one. A smart thermostat can help to reduce the energy consumption of both your heating and cooling system by better optimizing your energy usage. For example, a smart thermostat can be programmed to turn down the temperature when you leave your home during the winter to save your heating system from constantly running during that time.
You can even program in various temperature settings depending on the time of the day and the day of the week to help better optimize your energy usage. Furthermore, this system will monitor your energy usage so that you can be better informed to adjust according to your HVAC system’s usage going into the future.
Get HVAC Maintenance
Both your heating and cooling systems should receive regular maintenance at least once a year by one of our technicians. This will help to ensure that your system is operating at its peak efficiency level. This will go a long way in helping to reduce your system’s energy usage.
Keep Abreast of Filter Changes
The filter inside your HVAC system can have a huge impact on its operation. When the filter is overly dirty and in need of replacement, it will restrict the airflow in your ducting. This will cause your HVAC system to work much harder to heat or cool your home than it needs to. Be sure to check the air filter on your HVAC system at least once every month and replace it as soon as it’s necessary.
Consider Air Duct Services
Over the years, the air ducts in your home will get full of debris, like dust, pet dander, and pollen. This debris can accumulate in large amounts and restrict the airflow throughout your ducting. When airflow is restricted, it will cause your heating and cooling system to overwork to get your home to a set temperature.
Furthermore, as ductwork expands and contracts through the fluctuations in temperature, it can develop leaks at its connections. Pests and other things can also cause holes to develop in your ducting. Anywhere that there is a gap or leak, your system could allow your hot or cold air to escape.
This means that only a portion of your treated air will arrive in your rooms and your HVAC system will need to work overtime to make up for that loss. Air duct cleaning and sealing services will help to remove any airflow restrictions and seal up gaps to ensure that all the air your HVAC makes is delivered to the various rooms in your home.
Consider Upgrading Your HVAC System
If your heating or cooling system is over 10 years old, then it’s highly likely that its operating efficiency rating is much lower than the average you’ll find today. A great way to lower your bills is to simply upgrade to a new HVAC system. You may even want to consider one that is marked as high efficiency, as you’ll further be able to lower your utility bills.
Reliable HVAC Maintenance Service
Midway Heating Company offers reliable HVAC maintenance service for the Clackamas, OR community. We can also assist with all your heating, air conditioning, furnace conversion, heat pump, light commercial heater, and ductless system needs. Simply call our friendly staff to book your next service consultation today.
